Sunday, July 14, 2024
By:
“I was surrounded by friends, my work was immense, and pleasures were abundant. Life, now, was unfolding before me, constantly and visibly, like the flowers of summer that drop fanlike petals on eternal soil…Free to look out over the rooftops of the city. Happy to be alone in the company of friends… Everything I decided, in this life, was pure pleasure.” – Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy
If you’ve been following along for a while, Mondays are always the same. I went to the ACP office in the morning with Charlotte, Charles, and Jaden. I think we were all productive in our work, considering we are a chatty group. I’ve been working on my extensive report, and I think there is a chance I will finish it before the summer ends. Intellectual property and artificial intelligence are no joke. That night, we ended up watching the new season of The Bachelorette with some wine. This season seems like it's going to be crazy, but it was fun to see everyone get into the show during the rose ceremony.
On Tuesday, Charlotte and I headed to NIST. I think the train ride gets longer every time we go. It was a normal day in the office: getting work done, chatting with colleagues, and having an all-office meeting. Sonja came back, too!! Tuesday was trivia night, so we rounded up some of the interns and headed out. This week seemed a little easier than last, but we were still beat out. Maybe it’s better that we don’t win; we would be too powerful if we did.
Wednesday was a fun day! In the morning, Charlotte and I met two of our colleagues, Kimmai and Aime, to attend a Senate hearing on the response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. It was an interesting hearing, mostly discussing who was responsible for payment for damage and reconstruction. We had some lunch in the Senate building and then met an AAAS fellow that Aime knows for a tour of the Capitol Building. I finally checked one thing off my bucket list: to ride the Capitol subway (sounds lame, but this was the best minute and a half of my life). If you ever visit DC, I highly recommend checking out the Capitol. The building is gorgeous, and its history is also interesting. We were in the old House side and saw Speaker of the House Mike Johnson walk right by (he almost ran right into Kimmai, which was funny). Our group was lucky enough to get a pass to see the Senate Chamber while in session. While we were sitting there, we saw Senators Tim Scott, Josh Hawley, and Elizabeth Warren vote on something. It was a rainy night, so we ended the day with the best movie ever to exist, Cars 2.
Thursday wasn’t as exciting as Wednesday, but it was still a good day! Charlotte and I went to NIST and spent the first two hours there chatting. The Director of our office, Mike, brought in donuts for everyone, so we spent some time sitting in his office talking about everything under the sun. It was a great start to the day. The rest of the day went by quickly. Jaden’s brother visited, so we spent the night playing Mario Kart and Just Dance on the Wii. I’m convinced that Jaden and Charles have been practicing, but we may never know.
The end of the work week finally arrived. Somehow, despite Wednesday and chatting all morning on Thursday, I managed to be productive during the week. The day was spent working at the ACP office, which happens almost every Friday. Friday night, a group of interns and I went to happy hour in Dupont. We finished the night off with a trip to a bar in Georgetown.
Saturday was filled with multiple excursions. Charlotte and I woke up a little earlier than normal and took a trip over to Arlington. Charlotte needed her fingerprints done; that was the only post office in the area to do them. We had to wait two hours before she could get them done, but we were lucky enough that my dream law school was a five-minute walk away. We took a short self-guided tour around George Mason’s law school, making me more in love with it. We decided to check out the public library, and on our way there, we stumbled upon George Mason’s club softball team playing Georgetown, so we stopped and watched for a little bit. Charlotte got her fingerprints done, and we headed back home. In the afternoon, Kai tagged along with the two of us, and we visited the National Archives. It was a quick little touristy spot, and we were on our way back to the dorms. That night, I made buffalo chicken dip, and we played Just Dance.
Sunday was a true day spent in the sun. A group of us headed to Sandy Point Beach in Annapolis. We spent time running and playing with a football in the water. We stopped for sandwiches before and had lunch on the beach. Jaden decided to buy the biggest sandwich he could find, and I still don’t know if he finished or not. We broke out Spike ball and played a few games before it started to storm. Thunder and lightning don’t mix well with a beach, so we packed our stuff and headed home. After a nice shower and nap, we ended the night watching a true classic, Forrest Gump.
I still can’t believe we have three weeks left. In this moment now, capture it, remember it ‘cause I don’t know how it gets better than this.
Jenna Mastropolo